In the first Bernie Milligan Daily News All-Star Game, Paul Romero of Cleveland took home the MVP award after getting two hits and three RBI to lead the West rout at Dodger Stadium.

Dave Yobs of El Camino Real, the only West player to play the entire game, had a single and a two-run triple among the team's 14 hits.

Another Cleveland player, pitcher Dave Smith, shut out the East over three innings for the victory.

Bob Jones of Granada Hills also threw three innings of shutout ball, holding the East to one hit.

The game was tied at 2 heading into the fourth inning, when, after singles by Granada Hills' Don DeMint and Tom Collins, Romero doubled to center to make it 4-2.

The West then scored three runs in the sixth, two in the seventh and three in the eighth.

DeMint made the best defensive play for the West, falling into the West dugout after catching a pop fly.

There were few highlights for the East. The team used a two-run second to take a brief 2-1 lead. Jesse Alvarado of Sylmar, that year's City Section Player of the Year, allowed runs in the first and second innings before settling down for a 1-2-3 third, striking out two.

'78

East 10, West 2 - June 21, 1978

After its pitchers got shelled the previous year, the East rebounded with a strong performance en route to an easy win at Dodger Stadium. Five East pitchers combined to shut out the West until the sixth inning.

The East's Doug Rutherford of Burbank was named MVP for pitching two innings of scoreless relief and singling in a run and scoring.

Matt Elser of Poly, the East's starting pitcher who went 13-0 during the season and led Poly to the City finals, threw two perfect innings.

The East offense put the game away with six runs in the seventh inning, which included six singles off Crespi's Glen Magpiong.

Eleven East players had at least one hit and Mike Aragon of St. Genevieve had two hits.

``We weren't trying to get runs,'' East coach Jerry Cord said. ``We were trying to get kids in. You just can't turn the kids off.''

The West scored twice in the ninth on an RBI single by Royal's Dave Parker and a wild pitch. The West had seven hits and five errors.

'79

West 7, East 4 - June 18, 1979

The West withstood a ninth inning East rally at Dodger Stadium.

Bill Thom of Chatsworth, the game's MVP, had two extra-base hits: a 380-foot home run in the third inning and a double in the fifth that contributed to a 5-0 lead.

John Barrett of Royal provided the West with strong pitching, striking out the side in the fifth after the East loaded the bases.

``Barrett has a 5-foot, 11-inch frame but has 7-foot, 11-inch guts,'' said West co-coach John Di Ponzio of El Camino Real. ``He just turned the lights off. It was the turning point of the game. They had three great hitters and he got two of them on 3-2 pitches. Most players would have wilted in that situation. When he struck out the side, we knew the game was ours.''

The West also had another great pitching performance from Granada Hills right-hander John Elway, who became more famous for throwing footballs.

After the East scored three runs in the ninth with no outs, Elway came on and needed just nine pitches to get the save.

'80

East 9, West 5 - June 17, 1980

The East won despite committing five errors and stranding 12 runners at Dodger Stadium. The teams combined for 12 walks, nine wild pitches, nine stolen bases and eight errors.

But the East had slightly better pitching to pull out the victory. Jeff Salazar of Sylmar pitched three scoreless innings of middle relief and was named MVP.

Salazar got the win for his second at Dodger Stadium in as many weeks. He threw a complete game in Sylmar's 6-2 win over North Hollywood to win the City Championship at Chavez Ravine.

Mike Mazzocco of Hart and Mike Reynolds of Burroughs led the East offensively. Both had a single and a double. Mazzocco's double ignited a three-run sixth for the East.

The West, which had just three hits compared to 10 for the East, made a game of it in the ninth when Craig Stevenson of Chatsworth had an RBI triple off the right-field fence.

'81

West 11, East 7 - June 17, 1981

The West rallied from a 6-1 deficit in the fifth inning to win before 2,000 at Cal State Northridge. The West scored two runs in the sixth, six in the eighth and two in the ninth.

``I knew we could come back because of the quality of the players,'' said Scott Holmes of Reseda, who hit a two-run triple.

Holmes' West teammate, Sid Akins of Cleveland, agreed.

``There's a lot of good players out here and you can come back at any time,'' Akins said.

Akins was named MVP after an RBI single in the eighth that tied the game at 6. Akins then put the game away in the ninth with a two-run double off Tony Herrera of San Fernando. Akins also contributed defensively, retiring the East in order in the bottom of the ninth.

The pitching for the East was strong through seven innings. Greg Mills of Burbank allowed one run on two hits in the first three innings and Johnnie Johnston of Saugus followed, allowing two runs on two hits in three innings.

The East cut the lead to 9-7 in the eighth when Craig Johnson of Verdugo Hills scored on a sacrifice fly.

'82

West 7, East 6 - 10 inn. June 25, 1982

For the second year in a row, the West had to rally to win before more than 2,000 fans at Cal State Northridge in the first Bernie Milligan Game to go extra innings.

Larry Price of Kennedy, the game's MVP, had the game-winning hit for the West, singling home Simi Valley's Tim Rapp from second base. Price finished with three hits, including a 380-foot home run to left in the third inning, and two RBI.

The game looked lost for the West after Danny Morris of Hoover's two-run triple in the ninth gave the East a 6-4 lead. It was the East's fourth lead of the game. But the West's Joe Koh of L.A. Baptist led off the ninth with a single, advanced to third on two wild pitches and scored on a single by Simi Valley's Bob Clark.

The West then tied the game when Steve Symons of Granada Hills tripled to left-center, scoring Clark. Price's single in the 10th gave the West its second consecutive win.

``That's about as close as you can get,'' West pitcher Steve Sharts of Simi Valley said. ``God, it was a great game. It kept the fans in the seats, for sure.''

'83

East 7, West 4 - June 24, 1983

The East broke a losing skid at two games by scoring three runs in the eighth to win at Cal State Northridge.

Toi Cook of Montclair Prep gave the East a 5-4 lead in the eighth after a run-scoring single. Kevin Keller of Grant followed with a two-run double. Keller was named the MVP after getting three hits and two RBI.

The East jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning off West pitcher Keith Nicholson of Chatsworth. Chris Cota of Saugus started with an RBI single and then Todd Zeile of Hart, who went onto have a successful career in the major leagues, laced an RBI double off the left-field wall for the team's second run.

Later in the inning, a throwing error by Tim Riley of Chaminade allowed two runs to score for the East.

The score remained 4-0 until the sixth, when the West tied the game. Tony Ciccone of Monroe reached base on an error and then scored after three consecutive walks. An error by the East's Darryl Robinson of Sylmar scored another run, and a groundout by Kevin Janik of Calabasas scored a run to cut the West lead to 4-3.

The West tied the game again when Steve Reed of Chatsworth scored on a sacrifice fly by Chatsworth teammate Mike Bush.

'84

East 9, West 2 - June 20, 1984

Paul List of North Hollywood won the MVP award after hitting three singles, scoring two runs and driving home another for the East.

But the story for the East was pitching. Jeremy Hernandez of Poly, Ron Masino of Hart, Ugo Colella of Notre Dame, Cory Snyder of Canyon and future major-leaguer Jack McDowell of Notre Dame, who had a combined record of 51-4, held the West to seven hits, none after the fifth inning. The West scored just one earned run on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.

The West struggled defensively, especially in the fifth when it allowed four unearned runs.

``Take a couple of errors and a couple of hits away and it would have been a lot closer,'' West co-coach Mike Maio of El Camino Real said. ``I thought we had the opportunity to score a couple of times, but we didn't come through with the hits.''

'85

West 7, East 1 - June 26, 1985

The West scored three runs in the first inning off Kevin Appier of Antelope Valley for the victory before an overflow crowd at Cal State Northridge.

The West's pitching kept the East in check. Brian Clancy of Crespi, Bill Berry of Chatsworth, Cort Wright of Calabasas and Sean Harrigan of Simi Valley combined to limit the East to eight singles.

``Our pitchers threw strikes,'' West co-coach Mike Scyphers of Simi Valley said. ``The pitchers were the key. They did not get hit hard. Their (the East) base hits were ground balls. They scattered them at the right time.''

Clancy was named MVP for allowing a run on four hits in three innings. He also had a solo home run.

Clancy's performance was especially gratifying given the offseason work he did. He lost 40 pounds during the summer and went 10-3 for the Celts.

Mark Bowen of Cleveland tripled for the West and scored a run.

'86

East 9, West 4 - June 21, 1986

After this contest at Cal State Northridge, a man went down to the field with pen and program in hand, handing it to a player and asking him to sign it.

``This could be the last time I see him play for a long time,'' the man said.

Little did he know that the player, Rod Beck of Grant High - then considered the best player in the City - would go on to have a long pitching career in the majors.

On Beck's final day as a high school star, he pitched three innings for the East, allowing no runs on one hit and striking out four in winning the MVP award.

``You could say that Rodney Beck was the key. He got them off to a good start,'' said West co-coach Dick Whitney of Kennedy. ``He was really just a dominating player. I thought we had our chances after he left the game, but it just didn't happen.''

Beck also drove in a run and scored another.

After the East led 4-0, the West rallied in the fifth on a leadoff double by Kennedy's Kevin Wittke and walks to John Gillette of Agoura and Simi Valley's Corey Aurand. Then, Thousand Oaks' Eddie Hall slammed a pitch to center, scoring all three.

But the East put the game away in the bottom half of the inning when singles by Canyon's Dio Shipp, Beck and Grant outfielder Jason Peterson led to four runs.

'87

East 8, West 7 - June 27, 1987

The East took advantage of five West errors and held off a late rally to win before more than 1,700 at Cal State Northridge.

Danny Gil of Poly was named MVP after going 3 for 3 and scoring two runs for the East.

On the mound, Scott Weiss pitched three scoreless innings for the win.

The East scored runs in the second, third and fourth innings.

The West made it close in the bottom of the eighth when catcher Jim Henderson of Westlake had a three-run home run off Tim DeGrasse of Notre Dame. It was the only hit DeGrasse allowed.

``(DeGrasse) is a good pitcher. He just threw a bad pitch,'' Henderson said. ``I knew it when he threw it: It was a curve. When you only have a few days to practice together, sometimes things can get a little sloppy.''

Weiss, DeGrasse and future major-leaguer Jeff Cirillo of Providence held the East to seven hits.

The West was led by El Camino Real's Rob Bumgarner, who had two hits and made a diving catch in center field in the first inning.

West pitcher Mike Teich of El Camino Real took the loss after allowing two runs on three hits in two innings.

'88

East 11, West 10 - June 11, 1988

What looked to be an easy win for the East turned into a slugfest. The East eventually needed a run in the bottom of the ninth to win before 1,000 at Cal State Northridge.

The East led 10-3 heading into the top of the ninth inning.

``The whole game we had been laughing, talking with guys on the other team,'' East third baseman Jeff Antoon of Notre Dame said.

The game turned serious when the West scored seven runs in the ninth to tie the game at 10-10. The rally came after the team loaded the bases on two walks and an error. Chaminade's Mike LeCocq was hit by a pitch and Kennedy's Brian Roth drew the third walk of the inning to make it 10-5.

Later, the West scored four runs on consecutive singles from Monroe's Brian Eldridge, Denny Vigo of El Camino Real and Mark Cavaretta of Crespi.

The West scored its final run of the inning when Mike Schlesinger of Kennedy hit into a force play, scoring Vigo.

The East finally won when Poly's Mark David scored from third on a botched pickoff attempt.

East pitcher Greg Nealon of Poly was the MVP. He allowed one hit and a walk in four innings.

25TH DAILY NEWS BERNIE MILLIGAN ALL-STAR GAME

Saturday, 10 a.m. Alumni Game, 2 p.m. All-Star Game

at Lancaster Municipal Stadium

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) From left, Adam Scholhofer, Mike Kerber and Joel Wolfe played in the 1998 All-Star Game.